Gukesh D and Tan Zhongyi are World Championship Challengers
The 2024 FIDE Candidates has concluded. Gukesh D and Tan Zhongyi are the Challengers for the World Championship. 17-year-old Indian prodigy Gukesh is the youngest World Chess Championship Challenger in history. He will face World Champion Ding Liren in the match at the end of this year, while Tan Zhongyi will play with her compatriot Ju Wenjun in the Women’s Championship matchup. With four players vying for the top spot heading into the final round, the exciting climax made the 2024 edition of the FIDE Candidates Tournament one of the most suspense-filled Candidates tournaments in history. Gukesh D needed not to lose against Hikaru Nakamura with the black pieces to secure at least joint first, and he rose to the challenge admirably. Gukesh caught Hikaru Nakamura off-guard in the opening, swiftly achieving an equal position. Magnus Carlsen, the world’s top-rated chess player, provided live commentary on one of the streams and praised Gukesh’s 11…b4 move: “I love what Gukesh has done. It’s something I haven’t seen before.” By the 20th move, Gukesh had gained a pawn, but the position in the game was drawish. Nakamura never really risked losing, and both players logically drew the game. The tournament’s destiny was in the matchup between Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi, who were both in a must-win situation. If either side won, they would have joined Gukesh in the lead and played a tiebreak for first place on the following day. This nerve-wracking game had every chess fan feeling a rollercoaster of emotions. Caruana and Nepomniachtchi quickly navigated into a complex position where victory, defeat, or a draw were all plausible outcomes. Caruana, playing with White, managed to get a completely winning position, and it looked like the tournament outcome would be decided by a playoff. However, the American player first allowed some counterplay with 39. Bh7?! (instead of 39. Bc2 or Bf5 offering Black no chances) 39…Rxg5! and then blundered on the 41st move (41. Ka1 instead of 41. Ka2), allowing Nepomniachtchi a path to a draw. However, a few moves later, Nepomniachtchi returned the favour: His move 44…Nb3 meant that White was winning again. Instead, Ian had to play 44…Ka6 to keep the position equal. On move 59, Caruana erred again, letting his advantage slip. Nepomniachtchi returned the favour a couple of moves later, and White got a winning position again. The final blunder happened on move 66. White could have wrapped it up with 66. Qe8+ Ka6 67. Qe2+ Nd3 68. Qxh2 as Black has no perpetual. Sadly for him, Caruana was the one to make the final mistake 66. Qc6+? and after 66…Ka6 67. Re7 Qf1 it was equal again with no more chances for White. Finally, on the 109th move of this excruciating game, the players agreed to a draw, making Gukesh the clear winner of the FIDE Candidates Tournament. At the start of the post-game press conference, Caruana criticized himself, remarking “I feel like an idiot.” Later, going through the game, Caruana was murmuring “but it’s amazing not to win this position…” At the tournament’s conclusion, Gukesh commented joyfully, “I am so relieved and so happy. Following this crazy game [Caruana-Nepomniachtchi], I was completely emotional. Now I am feeling quite good.” From the players tied for second place, the Sonneborn-Berger tiebreak puts Hikaru Nakamura in second place and Ian Nepomniachtchi in third, with Caruana finishing fourth. Tan Zhongyi, the leader of the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, needed merely a draw to secure her triumph. Facing Anna Muzychuk with the black pieces, Tan ventured into a sharp line of the Sicilian Defense. It was evident she was playing according to her preparation, as by move 15, she was already 5 minutes ahead of her clock. On move 16, with 45 minutes down on her clock, Anna Muzychuk made a dubious move 16. Qd3, and Tan started thinking for the first time in the game. She found the best continuation and obtained a solid advantage, but sadly, she did not manage to convert it to a full point. The game ended in a draw, which was a fine result for Tan Zhongyi, who claimed the overall victory and became the next Challenger for the Women’s World Championship title. The runner-up going into the last round, Lei Tingjie, was playing with White against Humpy Koneru. Lei entered a sharp and complex position, with White being a pawn down but with enough compensation in piece activity. On move 23, Lei played one of the most beautiful moves of the whole tournament. The Chinese GM sacrificed her queen with 23. Qxa5! for an attack on the centralized black king. Black was forced to return the queen as the combination unfolded. When the dust settled, Black up an exchange in the endgame, but White had compensation with the greater activity. However, Lei made a mistake with 31. Rxe6, instead of pushing her passed pawn forward with 31. d7. After that, Black’s king became very active on the queenside, the powerful d6 pawn fell, and Koneru’s position became a winning one – a disappointing finish for Lei Tingjie. As a result of this loss, she was pushed down to third place in the standings, while her opponent Humpy Koneru, who started slowly in the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, played a great second half of the event to finish second. Vaishali R won her fifth game in a row, this time against Kateryna Lagno, to also share second place on points; the tiebreak criteria puts her in fourth place. Vaishali, who finally found her momentum, is surely one of the players who’s unhappy that the tournament is over! Final Standings after Round 14: Open: 1. Gukesh – 92. Nakamura – 8½3. Nepomniachtchi – 8½4. Caruana – 8½5. Praggnanandhaa – 76. Vidit – 67. Firouzja – 58. Abasov – 3½ Women’s: 1. Tan – 92. Koneru – 7½3. Lei – 7½4. Vaishali – 7½5. Goryachkina – 76. Lagno – 6½7. Salimova – 5½8. A. Muzychuk – 5½ Written by WGM Anna Burtasova Photos: Michal Walusza and Maria Emelianova/Chess.com Official website: candidates2024.fide.com/ Partners:
Vitaliy Bernadskiy wins 21st Bangkok Chess Club Open
Vitaliy Bernadskiy emerged triumphant in the 21st Bangkok Chess Club Open. The top seed Ukrainian GM scored an impressive 7.5/9 and tied for first place with Guha Mitrabha of India but came out on top thanks to a superior Buchholz. The 21st Bangkok Chess Club Open, supported by the FIDE Aid Package, took place at the luxurious Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa from April 14-21, 2024. Hua Hin, a popular resort town, has recently become a magnet for local tourists and Western retirees. This year, 335 participants hailing from 41 different countries have congregated in Thailand, making the BCC Open once more a staple of Asia’s chess calendar. While this number is not a record, what was remarkable about the 2024 edition is the sharp increase in players representing India. More than a hundred showed up in Hua Hin, representing the bulk of titled players in attendance. The competition, a 9-round Swiss tournament was a very close race of the top seeds and a few upcoming youngsters with Bernadskiy grabbing the sole lead in the penultimate round. Coming into the final round a half-point ahead of a group of five players Vitaliy made a quick draw with Denis Makhnev, which was enough to clinch the title. Only Guha Mitrabha (pictured below) managed to catch up with Bernadskiy to tie for first place after defeating young FM Reja Neer Manon of Bangladesh. The latter became a tournament’s revelation, finishing seventh and picking up a whopping 121 rating points. As many as four players tied for third place, with Denis Makhnev completing the podium thanks to a greater number of wins. Final standings: 1 GM Bernadskiy, Vitaliy UKR 2561 7½ 2 GM Mitrabha, Guha IND 2537 7½ 3 GM Makhnev, Denis KAZ 2516 7 4 IM Srihari, L R IND 2482 7 5 GM Das, Sayantan IND 2507 7 6 IM Morris, James AUS 2432 7 7 FM Manon, Reja Neer BAN 2285 6½ 8 IM Urazayev, Arystanbek KAZ 2471 6½ 9 GM Zhao, Zong-Yuan AUS 2485 6½ 10 GM Pranesh, M IND 2538 6½ Complete standings Photos: Bangkok Chess Club Facebook Official website: bangkokchess.com/
European Women’s Championship starts in Rhodes
UPDATE: April 22 Three rounds have been played at the European Women’s Chess Championship 2024 in Rhodes, Greece with six players sharing the lead with a perfect 3/3 score: IM Klaudia Kulon (POL, 2348), IM Mai Narva (EST, 2401), IM Marta Garcia Martin (ESP, 2349), WIM Natacha Benmesbah (FRA, 2306), WIM Martyna Wikar (POL, 2214) and IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (AZE, 2377). Playing on the first board in Round 3, IM Klaudia Kulon toppled the top seed IM Yuliia Osmak (UKR, 2459). After Osmak failed to find a correct middlegame plan on the black side of Scotch Game, Kulon got a clear edge and converted it into a victory on move 37. IM Klaudia Kulon defeated the top seed IM Yuliia Osmak; Photo: ECU IM Mai Narva (EST, 2401) beat FM Nadya Toncheva (BUL, 2258), WIM Natacha Benmesbah (FRA, 2306) won her game against higher-rated IM Irina Bulmaga (ROU, 2394), IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva (AZE, 2377) outplayed WGM Beloslava Krasteva (BUL, 2220), WIM Martyna Wikar (POL, 2214) prevailed over IM Pauline Guichard (FRA, 2362) and IM Marta Garcia Martin (ESP, 2349) defeated WFM Ronit Levitan (ISR, 2187). IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva; Photo: ECU As many as 26 players are trailing the leaders by a half-point 2.5 points, including one of the top-seeds IM Dinara Wagner (GER, 2453) who yesterday delivered a beautiful mating attack against WIM Michalina Rudzinska (POL, 2302). Standings after Round 3 Round 4 is scheduled for April 22, starting at 14:00 CEST The European Women’s Chess Championship 2024 began this Friday in Rhodes, Greece with the drawing of lots. In the presence of the Chief Arbiter Aleksandra Dimitrijevic, former Women’s World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova picked a Black pawn. It means that the top-seeded player in the tournament will play as Black on the first board. Round 1 pairings The event taking place April 18-30 at the 5-star “Rodos Palace” Conference Hotel with the first round is scheduled for April 19. The 9-rond Swiss tournament with classical time control brought together 183 players coming from 35 European federations and is set to be the largest European Women’s Championship ever. It boasts of a very strong line-up headlined by IM Yuliia Osmak (UKR, 2459), IM Marsel Efroimski (ISR, 2457), GM Bella Khotenashvili (GEO, 2454), IM Dinara Wagner (GER, 2453), GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL, 2447), IM Lela Javakhishvili (GEO, 2446), GM Nino Batsiashvili (GEO, 2445), IM Gunay Mammadzada (AZE, 2436), GM Monika Socko (POL, 2428) and IM Stavroula Tsolakidou (GRE, 2424). Video preview of the event The European Individual Women’s Chess Championship 2024 is a qualification event for the FIDE Women’s World Cup. According to the decision of the European Chess Union, at least 10 players will qualify. The total prize fund of the Championship is 60,000 EUR with 10,000 EUR reserved for the champion. Live broadcast of the event can be exclusively followed through the ECU YouTube channel, with commentaries by GM Alojzije Jankovic and Dragana Nikolovska. Official regulations of the event and detailed information can be found on the official website. Starting list of players, results & pairings can be followed here. Photo: Official website